The 1906–07 season was Burslem Port Vale's ninth consecutive season (13th overall) of football in the English Football League. They played home fixtures at the Athletic Ground under manager‑secretary Sam Bennion and chairman Robert Audley. The club finished 16th of 20, narrowly avoiding the bottom three with 31 points from 38 matches (12 wins, 7 draws, 19 losses), but endured a leaky defence, conceding 83 goals — the highest total in the division — and scoring 60.

Vale's cup campaigns included reaching the Second Round of the FA Cup, where they were eliminated by Notts County, and a semi-final exit in the Staffordshire Senior Cup, losing to Aston Villa Reserves. Forward Billy Beats led the scoring charts again, finishing as both league top scorer (13 goals) and season top scorer (15 goals in all competitions). Tom Coxon joined in summer 1906 and became a key contributor, scoring 12 goals in 41 appearances across league and cup before departing following the club's financial collapse. Vale also set club records: a 20‑game run from September to January without drawing (nine wins and eleven losses), and a record 7–1 FA Cup win over Irthlingborough Town in the First Round, their largest margin in the competition.

Financial turmoil intensified, with mounting debts and dwindling local support. On 14 June 1907, chairman Audley formally declared the club insolvent, and Vale resigned from the Football League — bringing this era of Burslem Port Vale football to an abrupt end.

Overview

Second Division Despite the club's ever-worsening financial situation, Vale managed to bring back former top scorer, and former England international, Billy Beats; he was appointed captain upon his return. Beats was made a tenant of the Bridge Inn in Hanley to supplement his wages. Gambling that big signings would attract big crowds, right-back Hughie Dunn was also brought in from Bristol Rovers; inside-right William Dodds signed from Southwick; with former player Tom Coxon returning from Middlesbrough. Sam Bennion took charge of team affairs after Tommy Clare's wages were too high to maintain. The team started the season well despite an opening day defeat to Leicester Fosse, with three wins in their opening six games; 6,000 turned up for that opening game. Some 5,000 returned to the Athletic Ground to Beats' "generalship" account for a 4–2 victory over Lincoln City. This was followed by four defeats on the bounce. Still, by winning five of their ten games in November and December the club put themselves in a decent position by Christmas. The club were two different sides at home and away, thumping Stockport County 5–0 at home and losing 6–0 at Burnley. Their first away win in ten months came at Blackpool on 22 December. At home they also managed to defeat second-placed Chelsea by two goals to nil on 3 November. There were 8,000 fans in attendance for the Boxing Day home defeat to Bradford City, which raised £155 in gate receipts.

On 5 January, Vale beat eventual champions Nottingham Forest 4–2. This was followed by five straight home draws and seven consecutive away defeats. They had league leaders Chelsea "completely tied up" at Stamford Bridge on 9 March, only losing because of a dubious late penalty and having a goal themselves disallowed. Vale recorded their first league win in close to three whole months on 30 March as they claimed victory over Gainsborough Trinity. Heavy defeats at Hull City and Stockport County followed, before Robert Carter scored a vital winning goal in the reverse fixture at home to Hull City. A 4–0 defeat at Glossop left them needing to beat Blackpool on the final day to avoid a re-election vote. In the event a draw would have been enough, though they made sure with a 3–0 win.

Port Vale just evaded a place in the re-election zones, finishing in 16th, two points above the (potential) drop. For the second successive season, the "Valeites" had the weakest defence in the league, conceding 83 goals. They were poor on their travels, losing 16 of their 19 games away from home. Back at the Athletic Ground, they lost just three games. Billy Beats was top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions; he was ably assisted by William Dodds, Tom Coxon, Robert Carter, and Harry Mountford, who all hit double figures.

Cup competitions The club had a good campaign in the FA Cup, showing they "meant business" with a 2–1 victory away at Swindon Town of the Southern League. They achieved their biggest ever win in the competition with a 7–1 trouncing of Northamptonshire League Irthlingborough Town, witnessed by 10,000 home fans. They took First Division Notts County to a replay in the second round, with 10,000 fans turning up when double that figure were expected. Vale lost the replay comprehensively 5–0 at Trent Bridge as they "never had a look in". Nevertheless, both rounds attracted 10,000 supporters at Vale, which greatly boosted the club's ailing finances.

In the Staffordshire Senior Cup, the club almost exclusively used their reserve team players but managed to reach the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by Aston Villa Reserves. To reach they semi-final they had to overcome struggling league rivals Burton United. However, this took two replays – a 7–0 romp preceded by 3–3 and 1–1 draws.

Financial collapse and closure On 18 May 1907, Robert Audley and Sam Gleaves appealed to the directors to pump more money into the club and appealed in The Sentinel for local supporters to donate. This appeal was met with resounding indifference, and so the club resigned from the Football League on 14 June 1907. The Football Association had already issued their fixture list (which had pitted Port Vale against relegated Stoke for the first time) and were furious with the club for quitting so suddenly at such a late stage.

Robert Audley justified the decision to quit the league by pointing out that the season's £200 loss was as good a figure as could be expected in the future, with the past seven campaigns taking in an average of £1,500, supplemented by an average of £400 in transfer takings. He claimed "this total could not be expected to pay the expenses of a league club", especially with creditors closing in, the bank refusing an overdraft, and summer wages to be paid. That so few came forward to help the club in its time of need came to be the final straw for Audley.

Many of the players joined Stoke and newly elected Oldham Athletic, and Burslem Port Vale was finished.

Cobridge Church Port Vale's history would have ended at this point had it not been for an unexpected twist. North Staffordshire Church League champions Cobridge Church were accepted into the North Staffordshire Federation League, which was still a very minor league. Joint-secretaries Millward and E.C.Brundrett had very big ambitions however. They sought permission from the Football Association to change the club's name to Port Vale and bought the old club's ground. To signify their roots, they renamed their reserve side to Cobridge Church. Technically, the Port Vale of before 1907 was a separate entity to the Port Vale of after 1907, however, spiritually the club continued its existence from its 1876 founding onwards. In December 1908, a group of ex-directors, led by Sam Bennion, bought into the club, meaning that the new club played at the same ground, had similar owners, a similar name, and played continuously from 1906–07 to 1907–08 and beyond.What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories! (Witan Books, 2011, )

Results Football League Second Division

League table

Results by matchday

Matches

FA Cup

Staffordshire Senior Cup

Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameSecond DivisionFA CupStaffs CupTotal1FWBilly Beats1320152FWWilliam Dodds1130143FWTom Coxon930124FWRobert Carter101011–FWHarry Mountford821116FWJohn Paddock30037HBJoseph Holyhead2002–FWGeorge Price20029FWJoe Brough1001–FWBert Eardley1001–––Unknown0044TOTALS6011576

Transfers

Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. Summer 1906 FW Joe Brough Smallthorne Free transfer May 1906 FW Tom Coxon Middlesbrough Free transfer May 1906 GK Howard Matthews Langley St. Michael's Free transfer June 1906 FW William Dodds Southwick Free transfer August 1906 FW Billy Beats Bristol Rovers Free transfer August 1906 FB Hughie Dunn Bristol Rovers Free transfer August 1906 FW John Paddock Wellington Town Free transfer

Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. June 1907 HB Sam Baddeley Stoke Released June 1907 FW Billy Beats Reading Released June 1907 GK Arthur Box Stoke Released June 1907 HB William Bradbury Fegg Hayes Released June 1907 FW Joe Brough Stoke Released June 1907 FW Robert Carter Stockport County Released June 1907 FB William Cope Stoke Released June 1907 FW Tom Coxon Stoke Released June 1907 FW William Dodds Oldham Athletic Released June 1907 FB Hughie Dunn Released June 1907 FW Bert Eardley Released June 1907 FW Ebenezer Grant Released June 1907 FB James Hamilton Burslem Town Released June 1907 HB Joseph Holyhead Wednesbury Old Athletic Released June 1907 HB Vic Horrocks Goldenhill United Released June 1907 GK Howard Matthews Burton United Released June 1907 FW Harry Mountford Hanley Swifts Released June 1907 FW John Paddock Wellington Town Released June 1907 FW George Price Released June 1907 HB Arthur Shelley Released June 1907 FW Hugh Walley Burton Swifts Released

References Specific

General